When The Vikings of Minnesota lost Sam Darnold against the Seattle Seahawks And Daniel Jones at the Indianapolis colts In free agency This week, it created a strange quarter issue that should have already had a response to the whole.
Now what?
Friday, the response to this request should have been simple: raising 22 years JJ McCarthywhich was chosen by the Vikings with the 10th choice at the NFL 2024 draft, then finds a emergency veteran capable of supporting it.
Instead, the QB landscape in Minnesota is again complicated while the team’s cream reflects on a potential prosecution of a free agent veteran Aaron Rodgerswhich would be signed to start again – rather than support – the future al coring stone of the Vikings in McCarthy.
During all this time, the surrounding world of the NFL and several teams when the need for a quarter is waiting. Not only on Rodgers, but now on the Vikings too.
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It is not a small development through the league. There is a good quantity of curiosity on the way in which the battery of quarter -backs of the remaining free agent will be resolved – with the Browns of Cleveland, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Giants of New York and the Titans of Tennessee all having an element of their future now potentially linked to what is happening with Rodgers and the Vikings. And you can add the Falcons of Atlanta to this list because they are Determined to hold the Kirk Cousins Vainegarde Vateran Like a possible commercial chip heading towards the project and beyond.
“(Sam) Darnold and Daniel Jones were both (in the organization of the Vikings), so I get one, even Darnold starting for another year. Because you know it, ”said a high -ranking executive of the NFL about the consideration of Rodgers Vikings as a signature option. “And Daniel (Jones), he is intelligent and you saw him for a few months. … Rodgers was not there. A few years (with the New York) for a few years (with the New York). Old and beaten. Did not end with packers (Green Bay). »»
“Even with missing JJ (the 2024 season with injury), it’s a long conversation,” continued the source. “As, it is not rodgers of 4, 5, 6 years old. And there are so many bulls **** out of the field. I just don’t have the risk.
The source stressed that there is a setback of negative considerations: what happens if Rodgers reproduces the Darnold experience in 2024 and plays Minnesota well? What if he was ready to continue playing?
It was an intriguing analysis.
In this spirit, I considered the four questions which must be resolved by the Vikings before continuing Rodgers. As they have internal conversations in the coming days, they must know …
Is Rodgers ready to take a bench if the Vikings turn to McCarthy in 2025?
The answer to this is essential. And you have to ask Rodgers directly by the organization, then the media covering the team. If the field on the field justifies it, will Rodgers accept a bench for an alleged successor?
Without a doubt, the long -term horizon for the Vikings is supposed to be McCarthy. When I spent time with the team last summer during the training camp, it was the message of the coach staff and the front office. If it is not the same answer at this stage, it means that something has happened with McCarthy’s knee surgeries and the weight loss that followed – or the evaluation of him as a player – who changed the calculation inside the franchise.
Until now, I have not made this sense in any way. I was told that McCarthy has brought its online weight with being a starting QB, has made great use of its mental representatives in the last six months, and was a great teammate when he joined and even traveled with the Vikings since last October. According to all the accounts, he returned to the right track, although having lost a season of physical representatives in the process.
Even if you launch its recruit season from 2024 to 2025, the reality is that the Vikings were planning to start it last year – until its end -of -seasonon tear. Now that it is operational again, I must believe that it is the same objective.
But Rodgers is a different player from Darnold. He has never been “bench” since he became a high -level player.
If the Vikings are serious about the right thing for the future, they must know by Rodgers in unambiguous terms that he would be willing to sit if it was time to turn to the McCarthy era next season.
How long Rodgers intends to play?
Members of the interior of the Rodgers explained that when he made his decision to potentially push a business from Green Bay, one of the major factors in mind was his inheritance. He didn’t want to change teams, then crash and burn. He wanted to show that he could do things in his own way – on the ground and out – and go up to sunset in his own terms. Well, it is quite far from that now, even with a few teams that jockey for its services in 2025.
This raises the question of what is happening if Rodgers signs with the Vikings and plays well in 2025? Does he grow for another year? Does he retire a positive note, even if it means a lack of success in the playoffs or Super Bowl? Minnesota should have a real idea of what Rodgers wishes And how is it ready to negotiate this against what the Vikings need.
Admittedly, Minnesota could sign Rodgers to a one -year agreement and the revocation, whatever the way it plays in 2025, but it comes with the distraction of a scenario in the section next season. Let’s be clear: the Vikings have a stacked team. Rodgers could absolutely come and have a year of all-pro level. But what’s going on for the future? Imagine the title: “Rodgers resuscitates its MVP shape with the Vikings. What does that mean for McCarthy? »»
Do Vikings want to weigh if you have to keep a 42-year-old veteran against McCarthy?
In that spirit, they need to know what Rodgers wants to get out of the end of his career. He may not align with the needs of Minnesota.
What impact would the signature have on McCarthy?
Just from a basic point of view, the Vikings should know where the head of McCarthy is on all these developments. He is still extremely young and has already gone through the loss of his recruited season because of the injury and reception of a list of veterans and coach staff react very favorably in Darnold. According to all the accounts within the organization, he managed it with anything other than positivity and a eagerness to learn and grow. All of this has made the life of the Vikings and the Front Office coaches’ lives easier because they weighed what to do with Darnold, Jones and now Rodgers. But there may be a limit to what young players can absorb before you start wondering if the team that wrote them has total confidence in them. Vikings must be aware of this, and that is why McCarthy should at least be brought for a conversation on a signature of Rodgers. If nothing else, to read on his state of mind.
The good side for the Vikings – and you can take this with a grain of salt if you wish – there has been a certain positivity concerning the admiration of McCarthy towards Rodgers which has resurfaced in recent days. All thanks to an appearance of rodgers on the podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience”, in which Rodgers spoke of being faithful to whom you are as a person and to defend your beliefs. Shortly after this appearance of February 2024 of Rodgers, McCarthy added a video clip of this podcast to his Instagram stories and labeled Rodgers a “goat human”.
Take this for what it is worth.
Is Rodgers ready to end his career by mentoring his successor?
Many will – and should be – long -term transitions that took place with the packers, when Brett Favre did not seem if interested in the mentoring of Rodgers to take over, then Rodgers did not seem if interested in mentoring Jordan Love Do the same in Green Bay. It is fair to wonder if a veteran quarterrier wants – or should want – bring the young player who is supposed to replace him.
But it is a different situation in Minnesota than in Green Bay. McCarthy is in place at the moment. Rodgers is the guy who would potentially be brought like the second violin, even if he is the starter in 2025.
Is Rodgers ready to conclude a one-year agreement to start and win matches while supervising McCarthy to take the team in 2026? If the answer is no, then it should not be signed unless the Vikings have lost confidence in the development of McCarthy. And if the answer is yes, the Vikings should explore with Rodgers what it will look like. What is it like on the training field? What is it like in class? Will the pair spend time together outside the installation? And at this point, why is Rodgers ready to be a mentor now, compared to the past when he was clearly the most interested in protecting his lawn and standing as a starter with packers?
While his end with the jets approached, Rodgers said he would be ready to return to the team and supervise a future starter during the 2025 season. And to this point, I would say that when he had to start in front Zach Wilson In 2023, I only heard great things about the quantity of rodgers was a volunteer and patient teacher with Wilson that year. Obviously, it was different from the clumsy existence between rodgers and love inside the packers.
In the end, we will see if the Vikings get all these questions resolved in their minds before making a decision concerning Rodgers. Frankly, the answers to them can eventually guide whether it is courted by minnesota or not. But if it is a Viking in the coming days or weeks, the answers to all these questions should be a greater concern for the minnesota fans base than on the front office and in coach this weekend.
